Schloss Nymphenburg and the Ratskeller April 20th, 2011 Day 8

Today was quite warm and a beautiful day to explore the summer castle of Maximillan and Ludwig 1, son and father, and both former kings of Bavaria.  Ostsentatious is the word that comes to my mind when seeing the castle:  everything is way over the top, from the size of the castle to its contents and grounds.  Beautiful is the second word that comes to mind.


Rear View of Schloss Nymphenburg



South side of the castle.  It was too big to get it all in one picture!

The inside of the castle was even more over the top! 

Side wall in Stone Hall



Painted ceiling of Stone Hall

They also had displayed the carriages and sleighs used by the royal family.  Sadly I was not able to get the pictures I wanted as they did not allow flash photography.  Interesting part of Bavarian history to be seen here!

Our last dinner was at the Ratskeller.  Plenty of good Bavarian food is found here and the atmosphere is great as well.

Some interesting observations from our trip:

• In Germany, there is a 19% tax added to almost everything.  Leo says that only essential foods from the grocery store are exempt, but these items still carry a 9% tax.
• In Austria, the tax is a whopping 30%!!!
• Tipping is different:  usually you round up to the next euro or so.  For larger restaurant bills, you can add a few euro tip, but not the 15-18% we are used to in the USA
• Munich is VERY expensive:  a cup of coffee can cost about 5 euro or about 7 US dollars
• I did not see diet drinks of any kind on this trip and it is often impossible to get bottled water that is not carbonated.
• I was never offered ice on this trip, nor did I see anyone with ice in their drink.
• It seems there are less overweight people in Germany.
• Cabbage aside, I did not see vegetables on any dinner plate during our stay in Germany.  I did see them in Austria. 
• People are much quieter here, you do not see loud and obnoxious behavior.  We saw a loud group today and it was the first experience with this.
• The German people were very friendly with us, very mannerly and helpful.

So tomorrow morning we say goodbye to Munich.  It has been an outstanding experience and trip!

Auf Wiedersehen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dachau and the Hofbrauhaus Tuesday, April 19th, 2011 Day 7

DACHAU



Infamous door leading into Dachau
 "Work Sets You Free"

This is the door that lead to misery and often, death, in the protype of concentration camps, Dachau.  We took a tour and had an interesting and disturbing history lesson on a beautiful sunny day; the beautiful weather belied the intentions and purpose of the camp.

Many of the original buildings are no longer standing.  The lone barrack remaining is a recreaction, but the "bunker", a building whose sole purpose was torture and imprisonment of those detained, is still standing.  It was almost 70f outside, but the temperature inside felt like 40.  Evil is an amorphous, cold presense in this building.  It was an odd and uncomfortable feeling.

Originally there were only 2 crematoriums, but when those 2 were unable to cope with the number of bodies, the creamatorium was expanded, and additionally, a gas chamber was built. To say it was uncomfortable being here is an understatement.

Near the end of the tour, the guide pointed out a statue built by a survivor of the camp.  The statue is doing many things that were forbidden during his captivity:  placing your hands in your pocket, looking upward, wearing warm clothing and not standing at attention.  Ironically, once liberated, the man responsible for the statue became a Neo-Nazi. 



"Honor the dead; warn the living"



Dinner tonight was at the Hofbrauhaus complete with band.  We sat with 2 Russian women, mother and daughter.  Leo was, as usual, our interpreter.  Nice dinner and good food!

Salzburg and The Sound of Music Monday, April 18th, 2011 Day 6

We boarded the regional train for Salzburg this morning.  It is a 2 hour train ride and for the 5 of us, the cost was 29 euro..not bad!  We arrived about noon, grabbed something to eat and boarded the bus for our tour of the Sound of Music sites in Salzburg.  We first stopped at the site of the filming of the back of the Von Trapp house facing the lake.  Swimming is not permitted in this lake and it is continuously fed by water coming from the mountains.  Add to this the facts that many takes were needed to film the scene where the children and Maria fall from the boat and that the smallest child could not swim and what they had was a near disaster!  The smallest child took in too much water and almost drowned! 



Back of the Von Trapp house.  The appearance was altered via special effects.

The Mirabell Garden was where several things were filmed.  The steps and the Pegasus fountain were the site of the famous Do Re Mi song by Maria and the Children.  Also here, the ivy covered walkway Maria ran through, and the site where the  children sang while criss-crossing and singing the needle pulling thread part of the song.  The gardens were beautiful!





Mirabel Gardens with the Do Re Mi steps in the back

Pegasus Fountain where the children sang while walking its edge.



Next was a quick stop with possibly the most beautiful scenery any of us had ever seen. I can't recall the name of the lake and the pictures don't do it justice.



The most beautiful spot in the Alps

Salzburg, Austria





Church where Maria was married.
It was absolutely gorgeous!





The Gazebo 
There were actually 3; this is one of the 3.

My one regret:  I didn't get to twirl on the mountain top!!  Otherwise, it was everything I had hoped for and loved every second! 

After our tour, we enjoyed a great dinner outside and boarded the train back to Munich.  I wish we had had more time here, but I'm thankful for the time we did have.  As we left Salzburg, the old fortress was visible.



Fortress above Salzburg built in 600AD



It was a fabulous day!!!!!!!!!

English Garden, TV Tower and the Olympic Stadium Sunday, April17th, 2011 Day 5

We started this day by attending church at Theatiner Church.  It was a High Latin Mass in a German church:  we understood next to nothing. When we exited the church the rest of the group was there sitting in the sun, enjoying coffee and watching people; specifically watching the beer/bicycle tour.  None of us had never seen anything like it!!  It is one unit with many bicycle seats, a keg of beer, one driver and marching band music.  I wish I had a good picture of it as I'm sure I haven't adequately described it, but you'll have to imagine it or wait for pictures from Denis, Cindy or John. 

The sun was shining brightly, so we decided to walk the English garden.  Right inside the park walls, we found people surfing!  Yes, surfing!  Novices are not allowed here and I can see why.  Some can surf the wave longer than others, but they were all skilled.  It was cold this day...I don't know how they stood it.









Japanese Tea House

 

Chinese tower with the band playing on the second floor.

Mark Spitz won lots of gold right here!





 Next we moved on to the Japanese tea house and the 17th century Chinese tower.  The city's oldest beer garten is located beside the Chinese tower, so we stopped for a bite to eat, a beer and music by the band situated inside the tower. 


The park was beautiful, but somewhat dangerous:  bike riders are everywhere and there are a lot of people.  You've got to stay mindful or you may get run over!








We jumped on the subway and headed towards the site of the 1972 olympics here in Munich where Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals and terrorists killed the entire Israeli olympic team.  When I saw the olympic village, I remembered seeing pictures of the terrorists standing on the balcony.

We rode the elevator of the TV Tower and saw an outstanding view of the complex. 



The Olympic Stadium of 1972



Viktualienmarket, Vaterstetten and MayPole Watch Saturday, April 16th,2011

Today we met Leo at Marienplatz and headed to the Viktualienmarket.  It is a large area filled with vendors selling all kinds of produce, flowers, decorations and food...food...food.  In the center we found many picnic tables and the as the tradition goes, one enjoys a traditional Bavarian breakfast here:  white sausage with mustard, a large pretzel and beer!  So the sun was shining and we enjoyed our traditional breakfast and watched the sites.  Funny story of the morning:  to use the facilities, one must pay .50 euro and you get a receipt.  I wasn't sure why I got a receipt, but then Leo explained you can use it to buy food.  I bought one of the local favorites:  pickled herring with pickels on a hard roll.  The price:  free!!  I used 4 receipts to pay for the sandwich.  So use the facilities 4 times and get a free sandwich!    We had a great Saturday morning/afternoon!

Beer at 10am...for breakfast!!



The Germans are enamoured with white asparagas!  It is everywhere!  Appears symbolic to me ;)

After a walking tour around the city, we headed to Leo's town of Vaterstetten for a snack of cheese, meat, bread and olives.  Also, since our hotel has only one English speaking channel (CNN International), and Denis hadn't seen any TV for days, we all watched some ESPN in English!  It is so odd hearing very little English; we enjoyed it.

Next stop:  Max's Tavern, Leo's local hangout.  We walked in and it was obvious they were expecting us and were happy about it.  Max is the proprietor; I have never met anyone quite like him.  For Seinfeld fans, you will know the reference:  Max has the Kavorka!!!! For non-Seinfeld fans:  the Kavorka is described as "animal magnetism" and Max has it!  He was nothing to look at, but Denis said that Cindy and I were swooning....and we were!!!!! 



Max, Cindy hugging Max, John, Judy and Denis




Denis, Leo and Max

Next we were off to the Maebaumwatch.  Each town has their own maypole and it must be protected from thieves from neighboring towns.  So for a few weeks before the celebration, the town is in protect/party mode.  The pole is guarded 24/7, but while it is being guarded, drinks and food abound.  It was a really odd assortment of people, but we had a great time and an equally great cultural experience.!!  Another winner of a day!





  




Berchtesgaden and Konigssee Day 3 April 15th, 2011

Today I learned what Leo meant when he said the trains are unreliable in Munich.  It took us nearly 4 hours to reach our destination (due to some unexplained delay between 2 stops), but what we were given at the end of our trip was a jewel!  Bechtesgaden was the southern command of Hitler's regime and he chose it for its natural beauty.  He was correct in his assessment of the area's beauty.  The town was heavily bombed during WWII, but the bombs did not find his mountain top retreat, The Eagle's Nest.  The Eagle's nest was visible at times to us, but most of the time it is esconced in clouds, often being well above the clouds.  It is only accessible from May to October due to snow and bad weather. 

Lake Konigssee with lodge in the distance

Judy and Denis getting off the boat in Konigssee

The guide places a horn on the trip and the sound bounces off 7 mountains.  Beautiful sound!

Also in Bechtesgaden is beautiful Lake Konigssee.  The lake is surrounded by mountains, one being the second highest peak in Germany at 2700+meters.  We took a boat ride on the lake and stopped at hunting lodge of the Bavarian king.  The lodge has attached to it, a "chapel", St. Bartholoma, which was built in the 1600s. 

St. Bartholma  built c1600

Hunting lodge and St. Bartholma.  We had lunch here.

Funny thing of the day:  Cindy and I had to use the restroom prior to our boat ride.  We found the restroom and the price was .30 euro, but the door would not take money.  We found you could just walk in and inside there was an old lady sitting, smoking, doing a crossword puzzle and talking on the phone.  I looked at her and she did not make eye contact, so I wasn't sure if she was working or just hanging out!  So we used the facilities and started to leave when she yelled, "HEY!  .30euro!!!"  We fumbled for the change and gave her some, but it wasn't enough.  Cindy retrieved another 20 cents and tossed it in her general direction.  Cindy said the "toss" (really more of a throw) was intentional. :))

It was a beautiful and extremely picturesque day despite the cranky attendant! :)

Schloss Neuschwanstein Day 2 Thursday, April14th

It took us a few hours to reach this destination which is situated southwest of Munich in the Alps, but it was such a worthwhile trip. Though it looks medieval, it was built in 1869 (though still not completed), and it is possibly the most picturesque setting I have ever seen.  It was one of several palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and it's said to have been the inspiration for the famous castle at Disneyworld.  It sets just in the Alps and overlooks a bluish green lake and flat green countryside dotted with homes and churches. To add to the fairytale-like experience, horse drawn carriages carry you to your destination.  It was really idyllic.


Neuschwanstein from the front




Neuschwanstein rear view taken from a bridge behind the castle




View of the countryside as seen from Neuschwanstein

We had a traditional german lunch at the foot of the castle.  Pork roast, dumplings, bavarian cabbage and of course, beer :))  Fabulous day!!


The City of Munich- Day1 Wednesday, April 13

We arrived today bleary-eyed and without luggage, but as expected, Leo was at the gate to greet us.  We dashed onto the train and subway, found our way to the Ramada Renaissance, dropped of our luggage and we were off!  As we exited the subway, my first impression was:  this place is damn cold! ;)  It was snowing and due to our lack of luggage, we didn't have the appropriate clothing.  But we carried on and braved the cold!  We first saw the University of Munich also known as Ludwig-Maximilian University:

The university consists of many large buildings, but no campus.  Students do not live at the school and if you qualify to be a student, you tuition is a whopping 0 euros!  Leo says it is one of the top ten universities in the world.  Founded in 1472, it was moved to Munich in 1826.

Just past the university, we saw the famous Feldherrnhalle.  Hitler started stirring up trouble on this very spot.  He was arrested and imprisoned and began writing his infamous Mein Kampf.

At noon we saw the Glockenspiel.  Situated in the city center, the Glockenspiel puts 16th century history to music and action.  There are 32 figures that emerge from the building accomapanied by several minutes of music.  We climbed to the top of St Peter's church (built in 1180) and had a fantastic view of the plaza and church.  The church tower is 92m high and with my fear of heights, I was glad I managed it.  Here was our view:

The Theatiner Church was the most outstanding of our stops today.  It's not much to see outside, but the inside is so intricately carved throughout.  We plan on attending church there on Sunday.











Ludwig



The one other thing that I found interesting is the ubiquitous nature of all things "Ludwig".  You can't walk far without seeing something Ludwig.

Ludwig




Ludwig




It was a great first day!

It's Here!

I have rewatched The Sound of Music and my bags are packed, so I guess that means we are ready to begin our adventure to Germany.  I am not sure how often I'll be posting to this blog during our trip, but I'll make a serious effort!   Here we go.....................